Mediated Bodies* investigates systems of design as they relate to representations of gender and identity. It considers how design presents conservative systems of gender representation through the vehicle of the media. The media is interpreted through its production of material artefacts, namely that of the magazine—which is seen to contribute to the establishment and reinforcing of gender norms, on a conceptual level, through the imagery it reproduces.

These media narratives are analysed through one specific case study—the aim being to analyse gendered meanings inherent in specific representations and explore the condition of the ‘mediated body’ in design: in other words, the body as it is captured, effected and transformed by the vehicle of the media. The study focuses on representations of the body found in seven consecutive issues of Frame Magazine (numbers 89-95). The findings of the study are seen to initiate a shift in behaviour by the magazine on account of the feedback provided, leading to a change in the production of gendered material from this source. Therefore, it could be claimed that this study has exercised an influence over the concepts of gender materialised by the magazine.